The Deep End of the Sea
by XxFire-LilyxX
Summary: Set after the war. Fire Lord Zuko goes on a much-needed vacation. While on the sea, his ship sinks and a crew member pushes him overboard. Zuko ends up in the Southern Water Tribe, where Katara is rebuilding and healing. Sparks fly while surviving crew members send for help.


_This is my first _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ fanfiction. I'm really excited, especially because of my Beta, Ms.K216. She is awesome and I advise you to read her stories. _

_Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, shape or form, own or profit from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is only a work of fiction. Please do not copy, steal or rewrite from this fandom without consent from the author. _

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_Across the deep blue sea, somewhere, there is hope for me._  
_All I ever wanted was my mother's love, whom is now gazing at me from up above_  
_Everything now isn't true, Oh Mother, how I miss you._

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_Zuko_

The smell of the salt, as well as the feel of it on my skin, gave me a sense of familiarity of the days when I was chasing Avatar Aang, a child and the world's last and only hope for peace. In a way, I missed those days. Granted, I did try -and failed- to capture Aang, but I got to witness rare sights no one, not even the most charismatic merchants, were able to see. At the time, I did take it for granted, only focusing on regaining my honor and returning home to a father who couldn't care if I lived or died.

The tides, both small and large, comforted me in a way not even the feeling of being in the palace has. I've considered the waters my home. Laying in my bed, I all too well remembered how the tides would rock the ship back in forth like a mother rocking a child to sleep. Instead of a mother's soft voice singing a lullaby, I had the sound of the water. In a way, water could be soothing, but at the same time, its majestic power could be used to destroy.

The good qualities of water always seemed to outweigh the bad. Yes, too much water could be a bad thing like flooding an area and cause harm, but water also looked beautiful and enchanting in the moonlight, it was pure and the source of all life and living things, water nourished our bodies and helps us thrive. Many people know the opposite of water is fire, and fire is nothing but an instrument to kill and destroy everything around it - just like my father, if he even deserved to be called my father.

Ozai was the Fire Lord before me who reigned with terror and filled the peoples' hearts with fear. No one would speak up for they were in fear for what he would do to them. If he could've burned the side of my face when I was a thirteen-year-old boy, then there was no telling to what he could do to you. He didn't care if you were family or not. In fact, he hardly cared about anything except for two things: Azula, and becoming The Phoenix King.

Azula was my sister, a child prodigy in the art of Firebending. She was quickly liked by both grandfather and father. She was a sadistic, manipulative princess who got anything and everything she wanted. I, on the other hand, was like our mother, Ursa, who was the complete opposite of Azula. While Azula spent her time training, I was with mother in the royal garden, feeding turtle ducks.

I recalled a specific time when I threw a piece of bread on a baby turtle. "Zuko!" The calm voice of my mother was now shocked, but her voice still managed to be as soft as ever. "Why would you do that?" The turtle ducks were quacking to one another before the mother came and bit me on my toe while quacking her anger.

"Ow!" I had yelled, rubbing my poor toe while glaring at the quacking turtle duck. "It bit me."

Mother just chuckled, wrapping her arms around me as I said, "Stupid turtle duck. Why'd she do that?" I watched the mother and her ducklings leave in a single-file line, the mother duck at the head of the line with her five ducklings struggling to catch up.

Mother just chuckled and said, "Zuko, that's what moms are like. You mess with their babies..." mother paused before inching closer and playfully biting onto nothing in front of me, "They bite you back." We both laughed as she wrapped her arm around me, and we watched the calm water.

That was one of the very few happy memories I'll ever have at the terrible place I used to call home, yearned to go back to, but somehow managing to make it back - only as Fire Lord.

Being Fire Lord was an honor, something only given to the descendants of Agni, the first and greatest Fire Lord there ever was. Many people thought Azula was going to become Fire Lord, but I always knew that it'd be me. My mind went back to the events that day, especially concerning Katara, Aang's Waterbending friend. Azula had shot lighting at her, but I jumped in the way, causing the lightning to hit me instead - in my chest.

I heard the sound of explosions and knew Azula had gone after Katara, but Katara prevailed through it and made her way over to me and healed me. Because that's what she was. A healer.

My thoughts about the Water Tribe girl were quickly demolished, exactly as they came, when the ship was suddenly at a halt. I got up immediately and ran onto the deck. Water was quickly wiping everything out of its path. Crew members were thrown over-board by the powerful tides, supplies too, and all I could do was stand there and stare.  
"Fire Lord Zuko! Fire Lord Zuko!" I looked up and saw one of the crew members, whose name I had not yet learned. He started at me for a moment before saying, "It was an honor serving you." Then, I was falling before hitting the icy waters and spiraling down towards darkness.


End file.
